The death of a Baltimore County police officer is terrible, but it's not reason to question the idea of the juvenile justice system

There’s plenty of reason to question the series of decisions by the justice system that allowed 16-year-old Dawnta Harris to be in Perry Hall Monday when police say he drove a stolen Jeep into Baltimore County Police Officer Amy Caprio, fatally injuring her. We are still learning more details about his history, but it isn’t merely the benefit of hindsight that leads to the conclusion that he should not have been on home detention — or, as it turned out, AWOL from it — on the day of Officer Caprio’s death. That said, we should resist the urge to use this case to call the whole concept of the juvenile justice system into question. (Balt. Sun)

The benefit of long experience — not to mention accumulated years — is the ability to put things in context, to have perspective. Like others of my generation, I began my career at a time when phones were only attached to walls, “texting” was not yet a word, and mail was delivered by a Postal Service employee (in my case, named Earl) every Monday through Saturday, and mostly at the same time of day. Were those better days? I’m not so sure. Certainly for some, but most definitely not for all, and certainly not for African Americans in our city and in most cities across our country. (Balt. Sun)

Climate change lessons — town by town

Last week, a congressman from Alabama who serves on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology suggested in a public hearing that sea level rise may be caused by erosion — a possibility experts rate somewhere between absurd and laughable (on par with a grain of sand causing your bathtub to flood). But it’s hardly surprising. The willingness of climate change skeptics to grasp onto any alternative other than a warming planet fueled by greenhouse gas emissions (along with melting ice and oceans expanding as they warm) is commonly observed. Closer to home, the Chesapeake Bay is surrounded by towns and villages where the politically conservative residents refuse to accept scientific evidence of global warming even as the tides rise and their waterfront properties are consumed. (Balt. Sun)

Time to let Anne Arundel Medical Center set up its long-delayed cardiac surgery program

Anne Arundel Medical Center’s application to set up a cardiac surgery facility hasn’t been taking long at all — if you measure time by geological epochs. Unfortunately, local patients aren’t as durable as rock strata. So during the three-and-a-quarter years that have crawled by since AAMC filed its application with the state, many such people who could have benefited from having open-heart surgery at an excellent local hospital have instead had the procedures in Baltimore, Prince George’s County or Washington, D.C., with all the extra strain and logistical burden that brings. (Capital)

Michael E. Busch: There's more to do for education, health care, the environment, Annapolis area

I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to grow up in the Annapolis area, attend high school here and begin my career as a teacher and coach here. My wife and I raised both of our daughters here and have been part of the fabric of the community for over 50 years. My greatest honor and privilege has been to represent my hometown in the General Assembly. I have always believed a quality education enhances the entire community and is the great equalizer for children to achieve their goals in life. As speaker of the House, I have had the opportunity to promote education across the state. (Capital)

May 23 // Ofc. Amy Caprio and the debt we can never repay

How often does a police officer respond to a call of a suspicious vehicle on a nondescript suburban street like Linwen Way in Nottingham, as Baltimore County Police Ofc. Amy Caprio did on Monday afternoon? A hundred times a day? A thousand? On this occasion, the consequences were devastating. The four-year veteran of the Baltimore County Police Department was pronounced dead by mid-afternoon at nearby Franklin Square Hospital. “Traumatic injuries,” was how her colleagues would describe the end result of her encounter with a Jeep Wrangler and a driver who refused to obey her commands. Much more will be known in the days ahead about that awful moment. But enough is known now to recognize a great loss — and a great debt that can never be fully repaid. (Balt. Sun)

In Maryland's 'I'm the only candidate who..." debate, here's one real distinction

When the most commonly used phrase in a debate is “I’m the only candidate who,” you know you’ve got a field of Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls who are struggling to differentiate themselves in the race to see who will challenge Gov. Larry Hogan in November. The first televised forum before next month’s primary, broadcast Monday night by MPT and WBAL, gave voters some ideas for how to tell one of the major seven candidates from another. (Balt. Sun)

In 1969, after having already been held hostage for four years, a graduate of the United States Naval Academy faced a lonely choice in a North Vietnamese prison camp: how to prevent his captors from using him in a propaganda piece. James Stockdale chose to smash his own face in with a stool rather than give “aid and comfort” to the enemy. In the early years of Stockdale’s seven-year imprisonment, the current president of the United States was enjoying the comforts of Wharton Business School, having received four draft deferments to attend college (he received another after graduation for supposedly having bone spurs in his heels). He would later go on to make fun of POWs of that era, claiming John McCain was not a war hero because he was captured. (Balt. Sun)